Thank you for purchasing your Ashdown Engineering Amplifier. If you live in the UK, please register your
purchase by completing this form and return it to the following address:
Ashdown Engineering, The Old Maltings, Hall Road, Heybridge, Maldon, Essex CM9 4NJ, England
(Alternatively you can register online at http://www.ashdownmusic.com)
If you live outside the UK, the local Ashdown distributor may have included a specific registration form
for your country.

1 YEAR WARRANTY
Your Ashdown Engineering amplifier has been manufactured to the highest standards, using the bestselected materials. To ensure its optimum performance, please ensure your amplifier is regularly
serviced. This product carries a one year warranty, against defects in materials and workmanship, for the
original purchaser. Ashdown Engineering will, at their discretion, replace or repair any product or part
thereof, which is found by Ashdown Engineering to be defective. This warranty shall not apply to the
damage of covering, fittings or finishes when affected by carelessness, accident or extreme climate
changes. Nor does it apply to normal wear and tear of parts such as valves, fuses, light bulbs, speakers,
controls etc.
Please complete the lower section of this warranty and return it within 10 days of purchase to Ashdown
Engineering Ltd. at the above address. In the unlikely event of any defect, please contact an authorised
Ashdown Engineering dealer. All transport charges are to be pre-paid by the Owner. Unless the
registration card is returned normal country warranty laws apply.

BASIC PRECAUTIONS
WARNING - When using electrical products,
basic precautions should be followed,
including the following:
1.

Read all the instructions before using the
product.

2.

Do not use this product near water – for
example, near a bathtub, washbowl,
kitchen sink, in a wet basement or near a
swimming pool.

3.

This product may cause permanent
hearing loss. Do not operate for long
periods of time at a high volume level or
at any level that is uncomfortable. If you
experience any hearing loss or ringing in
the ears, you should consult an
audiologist.

4.

Make sure nothing interferes with the
ventilation of the product when in use.

5.

6.

10. Do not attempt to service the product.
All servicing should be referred to
qualified service personnel.
11. For continued protection against the risk
of fire, replace fuses only with those of
the same type and rating as indicated on
the back of the product.

WARNINGS USED ON THE EQUIPMENT

7.

The power supply cord of the product
should be unplugged from the outlet
when left unused for a long period of
time.

8.

Care should be taken so that objects do
not fall and liquids are not spilled into
the enclosure through openings.

9.

The product should be serviced by
qualified personnel when:
a. The power supply cord or the plug
has been damaged; or
b. Objects have fallen, or liquid has been
spilled into the
product: or
c. The product has been exposed to rain
or moisture: or
d. The product does not appear to
operate normally or exhibits marked
change in performance: or
e. The product has been dropped, or the
enclosure damaged.

This product must be grounded (earthed). If
it should malfunction or break down,
grounding provides a path of least resistance
for electric current to reduce the risk of
electric shock. This product is equipped with
a supply cord having an equipment
grounding conductor and a grounding plug.
The plug must be plugged into an
appropriate outlet that is properly installed
and grounded in accordance with the local
codes and ordinances.
DANGER - Improper connection of the
equipment grounding conductor can result
in a risk of electric shock. Check with a
qualified electrician or serviceman if you are
in doubt as to whether the product is
properly grounded. Do not modify the plug
provided with the product – if it will not fit
the outlet, have a suitable outlet fitted.
The wires in this mains cord are coloured in
accordance with the following code:

The product should be located away
from heat sources such as radiators, heat
registers, or other products that produce
heat.
The product should be connected to a
power supply of the type described in
the operating instructions or as marked
on the product.

GROUNDING INSTRUCTIONS

Green & Yellow - Earth
Blue - Neutral
Brown - Live

CE MARK FOR EUROPEAN
HARMONISED STANDARDS
The lightning flash with the
arrow head symbol within an
equilateral triangle is intended
to alert the user to the presence
of uninsulated ‘dangerous voltage’ within this
product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient
magnitude to constitute a risk of electric
shock.
The exclamation point within an
equilateral triangle is intended
to alert the user to the presence
of important operating and
maintenance (servicing) instructions in the
literature accompanying this product.

The CE mark which is attached to these
products means it conforms to EMC
Directive (89/69/EEC), CE mark Directive
(93/68/EEC) and Low Voltage Directive
(72/23/EEC).

Front Panel Facilities

MAG300

MAG600

Electric Blue

MAG300, MAG600 and Electric Blue
amplifiers share the same front panel
facilities.
INPUTS - There are two choices of
instrument input, these are marked PASSIVE
and ACTIVE. The PASSIVE input is high
sensitivity and high impedance to suit
PASSIVE bass instruments. The ACTIVE input
is much lower sensitivity and impedance to
accurately match the signal from ACTIVE bass
instruments i.e. those with a built in battery
powered pre-amp.

INPUT CONTROL - The INPUT control sets
the signal level through the preamp in
conjunction with the INPUT LEVEL VU Meter.
This is adjusted to give a reading of 0VU on
the meter for average playing dynamics with
occasional peaks into the red region. Please
note that the setting of this may have to be
re-adjusted after modification of the EQ
controls.
DEEP - With this button IN a fixed E.Q. is
superimposed on the pre-amp to give a BASS
boost to the sound. This gives +8dB at 50Hz.

BRIGHT - With this button IN a fixed E.Q. is
superimposed on the pre-amp to give a
TREBLE boost to the sound. This gives +10dB
at 10kHz.
E.Q. - This button switches the Equalisation
section IN or OUT i.e. the Bass, Middle and
Treble controls and the two rotary controls
placed between these.

EQUALISATION - This consists of BASS,
MIDDLE and TREBLE controls with two more
rotary controls placed in-between. This can
be used in a number of ways:
Firstly as a very simple Bass, Middle and
Treble tone control section as found on older
traditional amplifiers. This is done by leaving
the 340Hz and 1.6kHz controls set in their
centre positions and using only the BASS,
MIDDLE and TREBLE controls to alter the
overall tone.
Secondly, If more control is required then the
340Hz and 1.6kHz controls can also be used
to tailor the E.Q. in the regions between the
main tone controls.
This provides a very versatile Equalisation
section, it is simple to understand and
operate, yet provides a wide degree of
variation. It retains the simplicity of a three
control tone section but provides the
flexibility of a graphic equaliser.
COMPRESSION - Adding a small amount of
compression gives a fat bottom end to the
sound and allows a greater volume of
amplification to be used without the playing
peaks distorting the amplifiers output stage.
You will also find that this will add definition
to your playing bringing out notes within a
run more clearly as it evens out the dynamics
of your playing.
A large amount of compression can be used
as an effect but it will tend to reduce the
dynamics in your playing to such an extent
that the volume of the note will be the same
no matter how hard or soft you hit the string.
Compression also adds sustain to notes
making them longer before they die away.

The Compression Level control adjusts the
degree of compression applied to the bass
signal. For this to function correctly the Input
Level must be correctly set as described in
the INPUT CONTROL section (left).
When the Input Level is correctly set there
will be hardly any difference in volume
between Compression IN and Compression
OUT. This is because the amplifier
automatically compensates for the reduction
in level that would be apparent when
Compression is added by increasing the
overall gain to restore the volume to its pre
compression level, because of this you may
notice an increase in background noise with
high compression settings.
Compression is switched IN/OUT with the
push button adjacent to the Compression
Level control.
SUB HARMONICS - This section produces
Sub Harmonics an octave below the notes
being played. The level of these Sub
Harmonics relative to the straight bass sound
can be adjusted using the LEVEL control.
This is very effective in thickening the sound
and you will find in use that only a small
degree of this lower octave is required to
really fill out the sound and provide a
character that is not possible by any other
means.
The degree of Sub Harmonics is also
dependant on the setting of the BASS
control.
Sub Harmonics are switched IN/OUT with the
push button adjacent to the Sub Harmonics
Level control.

DIRECT INJECT ( D.I. ) - A balanced D.I. is
provided on the front panel XLR socket. This
provides a Post E.Q. Post effects signal.
The output signal from this XLR socket is set
to a level and impedance suitable for
connecting directly into a Balanced
Microphone input of a mixing desk for either
Direct Injection into the PA system or for
recording.
EFFECTS SEND/RETURN - A serial effects
loop is provided at a level of 0dB. The Effects
Send and Return sockets for this are on the
front panel below the D.I. socket.
The EFFECTS SEND socket can also be used
as a Line Out socket if required. The signal
path through the preamp is only broken
when a jack plug is inserted into the EFFECTS
RETURN socket. The EFFECTS SEND is
situated after the EQ.
TUNER/LINE OUT - This output socket
provides a line level signal that can be used
either for a permanent connection to a tuner
or a line output for connection to other
power amplifiers and speakers.
OUTPUT LEVEL - The OUTPUT control
adjusts the overall level of the amplifier.
Adjust this for your preferred overall stage
playing volume.

Everything possible has been done to make
these reliable, minimum service, high quality,
long lasting powerful bass amplifiers.
We know you will appreciate the effort that
has been put into the design and
manufacture of this unit and you will be
rewarded in your choice of bass amplifier by
long life and reliability.